1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to fasteners for attaching objects to sheet metal substrates, and more particularly to simulated studs that are formed from the sheet metal substrates on which the studs are provided.
2. Description of Related Art
Manufacturers of industrial machines quite often make use of wire harnesses to distribute electrical power to various locations within a machine. It is common to run bundles of wire along a sheet metal panel in order to distribute the bundles of wires. These bundles are often anchored to a sheet panel in discrete locations to prevent the wires from coming in contact with harmful elements.
A common approach to anchoring these wire bundles to a panel makes use of a plastic molded cable mount with an adhesive backing. Examples of an adhesive backed cable tie mount are manufactured by the Panduit Corporation, catalogue E-CC-10, page 8 (1996). The Panduit adhesive mount series are simply applied to a sheet panel via the adhesive backing on the cable tie mount itself. This provides for an anchor point for a cable tie.
The disadvantage of the Panduit adhesive mount is its tendency to dislodge itself over time from the sheet panel. The adhesive backing quite often fails when too much load is placed on the adhesive mount. Also, the final placement of the adhesive backed mount on a panel is quite often inconsistent due to the installation process of simply laying the adhesive mount on a sheet panel.
Another common approach to anchoring these wire bundles to a panel makes use of a cable mount that is screwed to a panel. Examples of a screwed mount are also manufactured by the Panduit Corporation, catalogue E-CC-10, page 8. The Panduit screw mount is simply fastened to a panel with the use of a common screw. Upon fastening the mount to a panel, a cable tie is then used to secure the wire bundle to the sheet panel.
The disadvantage of the Panduit screw mount is the excess labor required to provide for a threaded hole in a sheet panel in preparation for a screw that is needed for holding the screw mount in position.
Other anchoring devices suffer from similar defects. For example, xe2x80x9cT-studsxe2x80x9d are often used in large quantities in the manufacture of automobiles, motorcycles and other machinery. The shank of the T-stud is welded to a workpiece, with the head providing a convenient base for further attachments (e.g., harnesses, trim, and conduits such as wires and hoses, etc.) to be secured to the workpiece. Such attachments typically include retainer clips adapted to retain the head of each T-stud. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,637 to Kraus.
Attaching the T-studs to the workpiece requires a number of manufacturing steps that increase costs and delays. Conventional T-studs are manufactured separately from the workpiece and are joined to the panel by, e.g., welding. Welded joints must be cleaned and tested to ensure that the weld does not fail. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,264 to Stepetic et al. reports that jamming of automatic stud welding devices can also be a problem.
Accordingly, it is desired to provide a stud or similar attachment means, which would be formed as an integral part of the substrate.
All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Accordingly, the invention provides a workpiece comprising sheet metal including an integral stud adapted to retain a clip.
Also provided is an improved process for providing a T-stud on a metal workpiece, wherein the improvement comprises forming the T-stud from an integral tab cut from the metal workpiece. The process is preferably conducted without welding.